Parking issues

[pollypocke]

Hi all,

For a bit of context, I live on a row of 6 town houses (double fronted terraces) there are another 6 on the opposite side. The lady who lives on the end house on the opposite side has a driveway, no other houses have driveways apart from the end ones. There is a concrete bollard to mark where her driveway starts so no one can block it by parking over the driveway. My OH has a work van (not huge) and one night parked it outside of her house and about a meter away from the concrete bollard. She came over and knocked on our door and asked my OH to move his van because she couldn't see the road coming out of her driveway. He did the first time she asked as he was being polite but when he parked there again she came knocking again and asked him to reverse back away from the concrete bollard so she'd be able to see better. Bear in mind there is limited parking on our street and if OH had reversed he'd be taking up 2 spaces which hardly seems fair given the lady has her own driveway.
Anyway, my OH refused to move his van the second time but was very polite and just said he didn't want to take up 2 spaces. She went off in a huff and was clearly annoyed.

So now, she parks her own car outside of her house but just far enough away from the concrete bollard that no one else can park in front of her and her partner still parks on their drive. Their drive is big enough for 3 cars and originally they always parked their cars on the drive.

My OH wasn't malicious or mardy, he simply said if there was no other space on the street then he'd carry on parking the way he has because he's not done anything wrong but this seems to have not been good enough so she's made sure he can't park there by parking her own car there even though she has her own drive.

AIBU to think this is a bit much, considering my OH wasn't breaking any rules and was parked perfectly legally

YABU - He should just take up 2 spaces so she has more space to see

My DH used to drive a van, and often parked on the road at lunchtime as it was quicker than manoeuvring. My next door neighbour used to moan like hell about him obstructing her view, but he actually obstructed mine more, and I still managed to get out without incident, it didn't even bother me, as if I'd told him it did, he wouldn't have done it. I therefore agree with you OP, the woman's clearly a crap driver, and it sounds like there are a lot of others on here too by the number who agree with your neighbour.

You’re not a better driver if you’ve managed to pull out blind into traffic without causing a crash, just a lucky one. I’ve been on the wrong end of two collisions caused by overconfident drivers taking risks with other people’s safety.

Sometimes, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

Her view is slightly obstructed by his van, but who says it isn't safe? Surely if she thought it wasn't safe she'd report it.

As it's her view he's obstructing, surely she's the one who gets to say whether it's safe or not?

And maybe your DP will find himself getting reported if he continues to park inappropriately. A bunch of vans got tickets near us for precisely that not so long ago.

Just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean that you should.

People with large vehicles, especially those that cause visibility issues like a van, should be more considerate of other road users.

https://www.mysociety.org/wehelpyou/report-illegal-parking/

Let your local council know about bad parking, cars that block pedestrian access, or which create a danger for others.

Highway Code Rule 250
Cars, goods vehicles not exceeding 2500 kg laden weight, invalid carriages, motorcycles and pedal cycles may be parked without lights on a road (or lay-by) with a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) or less if they are:
at least 10 metres (32 feet) away from any junction,

No, it's not part of bloody driving because it is dangerous. Start reporting those who are obstructing your visibility at junctions, you might save a life.

Ah one of those OPs
OP: AIBU?
PP: Yes. Very
OP: You're wrong and I'm going to be more unreasonable

He was already asked once not to park there. Continuing to do so was a dick move

He would take up two spaces regardless with how you've described it

Do you have a car? Maybe you should swap spaces with him if you do, so when he comes back you move the car.

The lady may have been involved in a crash before due to restricted visibility and be more cautious. Regardless SHE feels unsafe driving off because her vision is lacking. You and your OH should respect that

Y'all have honestly baffled me 😂 I thought how can she have a leg to stand on when he's parked perfectly legally on a public street!
I thought you'd all agree with me!! 🤣🤣
I'll let my OH know he's an inconsiderate A-hole.
Thanks all for your input and insights! 🙂

The world does not revolve around driveway owners, true. But in the same vein drive way owners are no more obliged to park in their driveway than your husband is obliged to not park near their driveway. Your neighbor had a problem , she's solved it. She now parks on the street as she (as you are very keen to point out in relation to your dh) is legally allowed to do.🤷‍♀️

If your dh isn't a twat for parking on the street legally, your neighbor isn't a twat for parking on the street legally.

I'm with you OP, and your OH. So no, YANBU.
It's shame that the visibility is limited, but there are ways other than having an unrestricted view, to be able to see if something might be approaching, including listening. And getting off the drive slowly, and preferably forwards.

Some of the people here should try on for size having entitled, selfish and short-sighted neighbours! Or try living where I do! Although I do have an issue with a selfish, nasty man with a LWB high to Cadent van, who blocks the frontage of two small houses (terraces). With their massive SUV, they take up the front of four houses, and will never move if asked, even if temporarily.

And it's not really anything to do with location, or "class". I used to live in a "sought-after rural village", and (back then) had to have the Police come out more than once for stupid senseless trouble-causing - by people who by the way, couldn't stand cockerel s crowing, the other noises from a farm, and banned horses from taking one entrance to the farm (block-paved) when their houses were built on land that the farm had been on!
(They also blocked off the Bridleway that ran along the back of their large gardens.)

Mumsnet can be so contrary sometimes. Expect nothing, is my motto these days.

My OHs van doesn't exceed 2500kg weight, it's an empty open back van.
Yeah I'll start writing down all the reg plates of every car owner I see parked at an inconvenience to someone else and take it to the council or police, I'm sure they've budgeted for that!
Honestly, I agree with you that it's obstructive and it's a pain in the arse but she isn't 'pulling out blind' into oncoming traffic. If you saw the road you'd see what I mean, it's a long straight road, she can see the road before she even passes OH's van

I'm very stubborn! 😂😂

Where i live people complain about how people park on the main road. It's 40 mph and people say they can't. There is a hatched area that no one ever parks on. Both the police and council have said its enough visibility and doesn't need changing. I assume this is the same for you. The bollard was purposely put a set distance which will be enough.

The amount of times I've had to pull out of junctions/roundabouts and driveways when there's been an obstructed view is almost every time I go out!

This suggests that you don’t have an accurate perception of what is or isn’t safe when it comes to driving. You really shouldn’t be pulling out onto a roundabout if your view is obstructed.

You could always park on her drive

Where do you live???? I live in a very populated area, with most people having to park on the street with very limited spaces. There are far too many cars for our tiny residential roads, it's something that isn't going to change overnight.
Even to get to my home, I have to drive by a mini roundabout with cars parked next to the bloody thing.
Maybe we should just up sticks and move to the middle of nowhere 🤣

That's a fantastic idea! I'd love a driveway!

If you saw the road you'd see what I mean, it's a long straight road, she can see the road before she even passes OH's van

That's completely irrelevant, though, because she still needs to be able to check again in case a child (or dog/cat) has run into the road in the meantime.

Also, something to note! Most of the houses around us are HA, ours is owned but a lot of the time we have HA vans parked all over the road, including where my OH parks, does she ever ask them to move? They continue to park there if she does so the council clearly don't see an issue and they own the bloody house and driveway!

I live and drive in London, including rush hour on an almost daily basis. I’ve never pulled out of a roundabout where my view wasn’t clear because I’ve no desire to risk killing or seriously injuring myself or others.

Being HA doesn't mean the council care where they park 🤷‍♀️

I live in a similar sounding area OP and I can see both sides.

There are quite a few vans round here and they have to park somewhere and yes it sounds like your DH is legally allowed to park there.

However it's awful having to inch out when you just can't see what's coming. The other day there was a van parked next to the junction at the bottom of my road so the visibility was non-existent. I inched, inched, inched out, was about to pull out properly when a car came flying down the hill - I braked hard and narrowly avoided a collision. He slowed and glared back at me. I glared back at him and raised my hands in a way that hopefully said "What did you expect me to do?" I mean yes it was his right of way, but surely he could see me inching out and was aware that there was no way I could see him?

On balance I'd agree that the neighbour has asked your DH not to park there, not to be an arse, but because she genuinely can't get out of her drive safely.

So because they're shit, selfish parkers, it's okay for your DH to be one too?

Ah see im northern, we're a more robust breed! 🤣 I'm joking, you seem to be getting quite annoyed with me though so perhaps we should agree to disagree 😁